Posts in the “Eurostar” category...

Passengers travelling between London and Paris, Brussels and Lille can save 10% on fares with a discount code launched today by SNCB Europe, the Belgian National Railways website. The discount is valid for journeys in all three travel classes: Standard, Standard Premier & Business Premier, and for both flexible and non-flexible tickets.

The code ‘AAKUAF14FF‘ should be added on the payment page to validate the discount, which may be used 250 times in total.

The code offers the greatest opportunity for savings on more expensive tickets, but not only thanks to the gross discount amount increasing proportionally with the fare.

Indeed, for the cheapest available tickets departing the UK, it may still be more cost-effective to book direct with Eurostar, especially if booking for one passenger and using a debit card. Belgian Railways charge a flat EUR3 fee whereas there’s no fee for debit card usage on the Eurostar website. SNCB also loads its exUK fares slightly to take into account the Sterling > Euro exchange rate. However, as transactions are completed in Euros, UK cardholders will also face (for the most part) an exchange rate penalty for a second time. Members of the Eurostar Plus Points scheme will not earn points on tickets booked with SNCB.

The greater the price of the ticket, the less compromising this is, and the net saving will increase with the fare level when booking with SNCB.

However, for journeys originating from Paris, Brussels or Lille, which are presumably priced in Euros to start with, the SNCB code offers a discount on all comparable tickets versus booking with Eurostar direct.

SNCB Eurostar tickets are self-print, and the discount code expires on the 28th February 2014, or when all 250 code applications have been made. For full details and to book, visit SNCB Europe at b-europe.co.uk.